Debswana Diamond Company Limited, or simply Debswana, is a
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...
company located in
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...
, and is the world's leading producer of
diamond
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...
s by value. Debswana operates four
diamond mines
There are a limited number of commercially available diamond mines currently operating in the world, with the 50 largest mines accounting for approximately 90% of global supply. Diamonds are also mined alluvially over disperse areas, where di ...
in the eastern and central parts of Botswana, as well as a
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
mine. Debswana is a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
between the government of Botswana and the
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
n diamond company
De Beers
De Beers Group is an international corporation that specializes in diamond mining, diamond exploitation, diamond retail, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. The company is active in open-pit, large-scale alluvial and ...
; each party owns 50 percent of the company.
Mines
The mines owned and operated by Debswana are:
*Diamond mines:
**
Orapa diamond mine
The Orapa diamond mine is the world's largest diamond mine by area. The mine is located in Orapa, a town in the Central District of Botswana about west of the city of Francistown. Orapa ("resting place for lions") is owned by Debswana, a partn ...
, opened in 1971
**
Letlhakane diamond mine
The Letlhakane diamond mine is a diamond mine located in Botswana about west of the city of Francistown. Letlhakane, meaning "little reeds", is owned by Debswana, a partnership between the De Beers company and the government of Botswana. It is ...
, opened in 1975
**
Jwaneng diamond mine
The Jwaneng diamond mine is the richest diamond mine in the world and is located in south-central Botswana about west of the city of Gaborone, in the Naledi river valley of the Kalahari. Jwaneng, meaning "a place of small stones", is owned by ...
, opened in 1982
**
Damtshaa diamond mine
The Damtshaa diamond mine is a diamond mine located in Botswana about 220 km (137 miles) west of the city of Francistown. Damtshaa, meaning "water for a tortoise", is owned by Debswana, a partnership between the De Beers company, Aquarius ...
Debswana was formed as the De Beers Botswana Mining Company on the 23rd of June 1968, after De Beers
geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
s identified diamond-bearing deposits at Orapa in the 1960s. Over the next five years, the government of Botswana increased its ownership stake from an original 15 percent to 50 percent. On March 25, 1992, the name of the company was changed to Debswana Diamond Company (Proprietary) Limited. The company’s primary objective is diamond mining and associated processes. Debswana operates the Orapa, Letlhakane, Jwaneng and Damtshaa Mines. The four mines have contributed significantly to Botswana’s socio-economic growth through diamond revenue, transforming the country from an agriculturally based economy in the 1960s to a country that has consistently displayed one of the highest economic growth rates in the world.
Debswana unearthed a 1,098 carat diamond in Botswana in June 2021. It is believed to be the third largest gem-quality stone ever to be mined. (Reuters)
Production
All diamond mining in Botswana is controlled by Debswana; there are no private diamond mining operations in the country. Combined production of the company's four mines totaled 30 million carats , nearly a quarter of the world's annual production of around 130 million carats . The high value per weight of diamonds mined by Debswana has made the company the leading producer of diamonds by value in the world. Debswana is also the second largest producer by volume.
Income and profits
Economic impact
Diamond mining activities have fueled much of the growth in Botswana's economy, allowing it to grow from one of the poorest countries in the world when it became independent in 1966 to a "middle income" nation, with $9,200
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
in 2004. The country has an agenda of becoming a "high-income" country by 2036. Largely because of this, Botswana is considered by two major investment services to be the safest
credit risk
A credit risk is risk of default on a debt that may arise from a borrower failing to make required payments. In the first resort, the risk is that of the lender and includes lost principal and interest, disruption to cash flows, and increased ...
in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. Diamonds account for approximately one third of the nation's GDP and over 80 percent of earnings from
export
An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is a ...
s, as of 2019. Debswana is the largest non-government employer in the country, employing approximately 6,400 people, of whom over 93 percent are Batswana.
Criticism
Human rights
Debswana has been criticised by the international indigenous rights organisation,
Survival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969, a London based charity that campaigns for the rights of indigenous and/or tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples.
The organisation's campaigns generally focus on tribal peo ...
, for not respecting the human rights of the
Bushmen
The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are members of various Khoe languages, Khoe, Tuu languages, Tuu, or Kxʼa languages, Kxʼa-speaking indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures that are the Indigenous peoples of Africa, first cultures of Sout ...
living in Botswana. Since the mid-eighties, Survival International has published reports that the Botswana government has conducted a campaign of harassment to drive them out and give way to mining exploration. Louis Nchindo, Former Managing Director of Debswana, has said: "The Government was justified in removing the Basarwa from the Reserve… It is sensible of Government to take such action. Otherwise who would always want to remain in the Dark Ages while others move forward?". According to
Stephen Corry
Stephen Corry (born 1951) is a British indigenous rights activist, better known as the CEO of Survival International. He was asked to lead the organisation in 1984. In 1993 he became the chairman of the Free Tibet Campaign and remains on its ...
, Director of Survival International, the Bushmen are not backward or primitive, and their human and cultural rights must be respected. The Botswana government has consistently refuted Survival's claims as exaggerated. There is still no evidence of Debswana mining in the
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
Central Kalahari Game Reserve is an extensive national park in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. Established in 1961 it covers an area of (larger than the Netherlands, and almost 10% of Botswana's total land area), making it the second largest game ...
as the company operates mines elsewhere, at Jwaneng, Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa.
Economy of Botswana
The economy of Botswana is currently one of the world's fastest growing economies, averaging about 5% per annum over the past decade. Growth in private sector employment averaged about 10% per annum during the first 30 years of the country's inde ...
*
Louis Goodwill Nchindo
Louis Goodwill Nchindo (1941–2010) was a Botswana businessman and political advisor, who rose to political prominence as managing director of Debswana, the Botswana diamond authority.Lynette Armstrong